University of Virginia Black Law Grads Show You The Real Charlottesville

Our future is looking bright with these young people.

The Neo-Nazi Charlottesville rally in August, which killed 32-year-old Heather Heyer, injured multiple people and proved for the millionth time that Trump is a stone-cold racist, framed the Virginia town as a place of toxic hate. However, Charlottesville is also home to University of Virginia Black law students who just graduated and have plenty of reason to celebrate.

Black law students at University of Virginia have a unique history. According to Law.Virginia.edu, in 1970, students at University of Virginia Law created the school’s Black American Law Students Association chapter. Due to the Black American Law Students Association’s activism, University of Virginia Law hired their first Black professor, Larry Gibson. The organization has continued to fight for Black professors to be tenured and, even today, the young people have carried on the legacy through Black Lawyers Matter.

Therefore, in celebration of the 2018 graduates, the UVA Black law graduates created a video to show the side of Charlottesville many do not know. Try not to smile watching all the Black boy and girl magic below:

Deitra Jones, president of the 2016-2017 Black Law Students Association and a 2018 graduate, exclusively told NewsOne, “With this video we just wanted to shed light on a different side of Charlottesville, Virginia and provide a more positive narrative of the type of people who live and come to Charlottesville to advance their education.” She continued, “My hope is that it will inspire and motivate people of all ages and ethnicities; that it will encourage them to protect their dreams in the face of naysayers and be resilient about their pursuit in spite of hardship.”

Well said and congrats to the 2018 graduates! They are our future freedom fighters in the courtroom. We need more Black prosecutors, Black judges and Black and brown people in our justice system. You never know, a Black law grad from University of Virginia could be the next Thurgood Marsshall, Johnnie Cochran, President Barack Obama or civil rights lawyer Dovey Johnson, who passed away yesterday at 104.